Dial The Wild
Dial The Wild Podcast is an ongoing discussion with like-minded individuals who have a desire to engage the primal nature within themselves. Topics ranging from Music, Sports, Hunting, Archery, Jeeping, MMA, Comedy, Fishing, etc. what ever dials-in your wild!
Dial The Wild
LLCC Episode -2- Banter, Bourbon, and the Bonds of Tradition
There's something magical about the clink of whiskey glasses and the aromatic wisp of cigar smoke shared among friends. Just last week, I found Kaleb in a thrilling hunt for that one bottle that plays hide and seek in a Luke's vast collection. Join us as we recount the tales of our whiskey and cigar evening, where we not only discovered the bottle but also indulged in a rich conversation about the nuanced flavors of spirits with our new guest Andrew Kerr "Dr. Mixology" himself. It's not all about the drinks, though; our generational banter and the life-saving power of coffee also make a memorable appearance.
Have you ever walked into a dive bar and felt like you stepped into another world? We take you on a journey through the dive bar universe, complete with the shenanigans that ensue when social circles collide. From The Ritz's inclusive ambience to the misadventures of online contests and voice recognition mishaps, we share why these watering holes hold a special place in our hearts. And let's not forget the surprisingly serious side of social media that can turn a friendly contest into a pay-to-win scenario.
But wait, there's more than just whiskey on the menu. We're mixing things up with a lively debate on the merits of flavored spirits and the creative cocktails they inspire. Ever tried making your own cinnamon whiskey or savoring a peanut butter bourbon milkshake? We dive into the world of homemade concoctions, fat-washed bourbons, and the cherished recipes that connect us to our roots. From breakfasts augmented with a touch of whiskey to the enduring allure of banana liqueur, this discussion is a delectable blend of spirits, food, and tradition that you won't want to miss.
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We'll see you next time. Snatch the movie. Yeah, I'm glad you specified the movie.
Speaker 1:That definitely sounded like a thing, to me. Oh yeah, Ethically wrong.
Speaker 2:What are we starting today with?
Speaker 1:I'll tell you the question for me.
Speaker 2:So we just had the we did our Scotch adventure last week or last week, week before, Okay.
Speaker 3:I'm halfway through this shelf and it is.
Speaker 2:Caleb's having a day.
Speaker 3:Okay, oh no, we're into this now. I feel like it's all dismissed. You want to know?
Speaker 1:how to get to the Olympics, have such an attitude that losing is not an option. That your buddy's 200-bottle selection of whiskey can be made into the very back corners to find one weird bottle. Dude, give it up. No, get me a headlamp. That's where we're going. You have two.
Speaker 3:That wasn't in the Olympics, that was at Worlds.
Speaker 1:I stand corrected, not the Olympics, the Worlds. That's what I put on the floor. That's what I put on the floor. That's what I put on the floor, not that one, the one that says Bowman, the one that says Bowman Brothers.
Speaker 3:It says Isaac Bowman, not Bowman Brothers. Oh, it's Bowman Brothers.
Speaker 1:I do and did you see a benchmark?
Speaker 2:Yes, right here it looks almost like a a jackpot, believe it or not, caleb's the uh bartender of the he gave you a look like you were about to get mike slapped well, you're technically the bartender.
Speaker 1:He's the bar owner oh no, oh, that's caleb making a point. Mixologist. There's a difference.
Speaker 2:Alright, so cigars Now we got a pair. You want something sweet? Yeah, let's go. Is this on? So?
Speaker 1:I can talk trash.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the five pack above the blue.
Speaker 2:We got the, then I can chuck the mic.
Speaker 3:Okay, luke, the five pack above the blue human character. We got the Okay and then I can chuck the mic in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, okay, you can chuck the mic in right now. I thought we had a cigar.
Speaker 2:Luke, what am I looking at here? So that is Benchmark.
Speaker 1:Bondage oh, it has some tobaccos. Yeah, benchmark is.
Speaker 2:Do I need to run up and grab a glass?
Speaker 1:No, we got glasses down here. Um, you're not running up those stairs, you're climbing up, maybe. Sorry, go ahead. Benchmark is, uh, the affordable selection from buffalo trace. Um, I believe it's at the same line. Uh, the same, because they have like three different mash bills. I believe it's the same mash bill as stag, but I'm telling you, if you put this out there on the internet, some know-it-all asshole is probably going to grab you right now.
Speaker 1:Let's not kid ourselves. Buffalo Trace is affordable, just not in Macomb In the hinterland. Well, I was legit in Napa Valley grocery store, where everything is super expensive and Buffalo Trace was $23 on the shelf.
Speaker 3:I get liters for like $26, $27, I think.
Speaker 1:Yeah. No, it's and then macomb is like oh 45 yeah, limit limit one yeah I'll just yes we are pairing this with a what here?
Speaker 2:what's the?
Speaker 1:tobacco, I believe the correcto all right, I can.
Speaker 3:Corretto. Not quite as good as the bag of special Taffy Conleche.
Speaker 1:I'm going to save this for the drive home.
Speaker 3:Very good.
Speaker 2:And open this now. Caleb is not smoking his PVC cigar this week, just to your left.
Speaker 1:Travis. Just to your left, there is a cigar cutter, and if you notice it'll look like a cat eye. The cat eye one cuts a V-cut.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And then the regular circle will cut a straight cut. The blade swings on an arc, so it actually cuts a little more than a regular straight cut. Wow.
Speaker 3:You're going to understand this week why I smoke the bigger cigars to your little.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, herbert you want the little cat eye. No, I, what the fuck? Yeah, yeah, herbin.
Speaker 3:I like the little cat.
Speaker 1:No, I like the bitch Okay.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't have a fancy cigar cutter in my sous vide man cave.
Speaker 1:We'll get you one. We'll get you one. It'll probably be your birthday gift.
Speaker 3:When am I going to get my sous vide machine? I still never had one.
Speaker 1:Listen, I keep coming up with cooler shit than a sous vide machine. I still never had one. Listen, I keep coming up with cooler shit than a sous vide machine. You're just going to have to accept that Right underneath the thumb. Right there, there you go. Yeah, you. That's the difference between being my age and the age of you guys is. I see you having problems and I tell you how to fix it, instead of giving you crap about it. Why don't you do that with me? How old are you, travis?
Speaker 3:37 you're all gen x baby you're all gen x baby.
Speaker 2:You're all the generation I'm the lost gen, you're all millennials in my mind.
Speaker 3:Uh I'm gen x and you need to remember that I was raised by some very old school people so I got raised pretty hard for gen x yeah, you're you're a millennial.
Speaker 2:On my book, my favorite line is anybody who's given millennials shit needs to remember that in the 70s you guys put shag carpet over hardwood floors. I'm real gen x, especially millennials listen, we were raised feral.
Speaker 1:We were trying to survive off of garden hoses and whatever we could gather. So we are. We are a little bit more resourceful than most people and totally willing to get by on next to nothing. That was just a Colchester thing.
Speaker 3:And then we had the clay pits. We go out to clay pits and climb around.
Speaker 1:Yeah, colchester and the clay mines yes.
Speaker 3:Where we play.
Speaker 2:And here we are Having a coffee.
Speaker 3:It's official, I may not be able to be killed Having a coffee flavored cigar. We had this talk on podcast before having a coffee. It's official.
Speaker 2:I may not be able to be killed having a coffee flavored cigar. We had this talk on uh podcast before um, not the st patty's day, before, I think the november show as jess was trying to explain that you are a certified ninja, therefore you can't get sick. And then the other guy was just like is that is a thing? Like people can't get sick if they're ninjas? She goes, have you ever seen a sick ninja? We kind of stopped the conversation after that. You got to give her that.
Speaker 1:That's a solid argument you usually don't see ninjas, though so. That's not the point. It's sort of like I tell my wife all the time I'm the best husband she's ever had. I thought you were supposed to cut your face off if you're seeing. Never mind the fact that I'm the only husband she's ever had. That's not my point.
Speaker 2:So here we are and luke is my favorite friend with a cigar room. I'm his only friend with a cigar win by default. We got luke here again. We're in his cigar room still winning we got caleb here, still being a smart ass. Yeah yeah, and we're joined by Andrew today.
Speaker 3:Hello, hello, he says, also known as the man, the myth, the legend.
Speaker 1:Dr Mixology.
Speaker 2:Dr Mixology yeah.
Speaker 1:Is that your alter?
Speaker 2:ego, or is that just like your brand?
Speaker 1:It's kind of an alter ego. It turned into a brand. It started as an alter ego because I have a doctorate and I'm a leadership professional but I really enjoy the crafting of drinks and so it just friends like started calling me Dr Mixology and it kind of stuck. Born and raised in Macomb area I was born in Macomb. Born and raised in the Macomb area. I was born in Macomb. I was raised in central Illinois but spent most of my weekends in Macomb out at the old family farmstead. So I guess I'm a local boy, you could say. My ancestors moved here from Kentucky in 1836, and I'm still living on that piece of property.
Speaker 2:Nice, caleb, where was your family in 1836? And I'm still living on that piece of property. Nice, caleb, where was your family at 1836?
Speaker 3:Debtor's prison? No, no. When was Wild Bill Hickok shot in the back? No, seriously, wait for this.
Speaker 1:Wait for this, I don't know. I'm Googling this shit right now. That was late 1800s, I believe, because the person who shot him in the back was a mccall, which? Is my mom's side of the family, shot august 2nd 1876 birthday of our country.
Speaker 2:Signing of the declaration.
Speaker 1:It wasn't mccall that shot him 1876, not 1776 I said the birthday dude, right the birthday 100 years, the bird day it was 100 years of america and the first day that a descendant of caleb had ever stepped off the boat and the first thing he did was it only took 100 why now?
Speaker 3:now, what do you know about Wild Bill Hickok?
Speaker 2:Not near as much as you do, I'm guessing.
Speaker 3:I found out that it was potentially one of my family members that shot him Completely by random, because Wild Bill Hickok is responsible for my favorite poker hand in history. He always he'd play poker and he'd always make people angry, so he'd always sit with his back to a wall facing the door. Well, when he got shot in the back, he sat with his back to the door the one time.
Speaker 3:The one time, I think I've heard this Guy came in, shot him in the back, which would happen to be my relative, Not not the most noble of what he used to do it, but kind of get the job done somehow, I guess. And he was holding aces and eights, dead man's hand. That's why aces and eights is called dead man's hand.
Speaker 1:As this hits the internet, there's some descendant of Wild Bill Hickok. Right now that's sharpening a knife and just pausing.
Speaker 3:Where the hell is this guy? This is going to go this way. I am having a great day. Now let's do this. Guns, knives and a ninja Wait, I have all those things, though, right.
Speaker 2:What's he got. He got all those things you confiscated from that dude at the bar. Remember what was he?
Speaker 3:Grote, grote Pocket knife.
Speaker 1:Who, again and Fast, is on the wrong syllable. Is it Grote or Grot I?
Speaker 2:don't know, I am Grote.
Speaker 1:I am.
Speaker 2:Grote. I always thought it was.
Speaker 3:Grote. I thought it was Grote, but maybe I'm saying it wrong.
Speaker 1:If only we had computers in our hands. I don't, the bastard stepchild of all knowledge held in a three by seven rectangle in my hand, and all I have to do is ask it what is the proper pronunciation of the word garage?
Speaker 2:no, it's not garage garage no, not garage.
Speaker 1:It just keeps wanting to do it.
Speaker 3:Hold on I think we're having to type it in. Use your fingers. You need an iPhone. What do you call?
Speaker 1:a cable used for choking a person to death first off, they mispronounce a lot of words.
Speaker 3:Look at the look at the.
Speaker 1:No, it said it garage. You didn't even hear it, I did. Look at the the way it's spelled. Yes, definitely Garote. G-a-r-r-o-t-e Garote. I'm not arguing that you're wrong. I'm just saying that.
Speaker 2:We had a thing on the website for a while supporting your run for. For what was it? Mix uh? No a magazine you want to talk about that?
Speaker 1:I was. I was actually still looking up the. Let me pause this, sorry, I was looking oh, you were doing the groat.
Speaker 2:I'm stuck on the groat man. Yeah, I wasn, I wasn't even paying attention.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it was one of those weird online contests and I learned a lot about online contests at that point. Well, no, it was interesting. I had to block almost 20 people because it was, you know, I put it on my Facebook page and my Instagram. And I say I put it on my Instagram. I don't understand Instagram. My daughter runs it for me and, uh, and about 20, over 20 people were contacting me to like, buy votes, and so I don't know if the people and this isn't like sore loser thing but, um, you know, everyone that voted for me in Macomb was voting for me.
Speaker 1:It was a contest. Uh, just basically about a contest. Just basically about it was a fundraiser for one, which was nice, and it was to create. Eventually create, it was to sponsor. I believe it was a Mezcal I don't remember the brand and I had a great drink picked out I was going to do, but I didn't make it far enough to actually get to that level.
Speaker 1:But it was fun and it was fun to see the town rally around me and actually my Pacific friends most of my life's been spent in the Pacific Islands and to see them rally around it. It was a lot of fun, but the interesting thing was just to see that there's a whole industry out there in the Facebook cyber world, cyber world, whatever of people that will will buy you votes for these different contests. Um well, no, no, I'm. I think it's. It's not so much about the cigar room full of whiskey as it is that, like one of the one of the female competitors that was up against him was a full-time bartender right but because she was very attractive, she had a lot of followers that probably really weren't even following her because she was necessarily an amazing bartender.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying anything about her skills, I don't know right, but you know it well. It was a, it was a self-described dive bar, and but you know good for her.
Speaker 3:So she listen.
Speaker 1:Dive bars are the best well, I mean, yeah, the ritz is the best dive bar of all it, it is, I will.
Speaker 2:They have metal there, I've been told yeah, they get the guy who runs.
Speaker 3:It's uh like a ninja no, the guy who runs the metal shows oh yeah, he's like my best as a dive bar.
Speaker 1:that changes everything for me, cause when I think dive bar, I think like the kind of place where you can like really witness a fight.
Speaker 3:That's hole in the wall You're waiting to get stabbed, we're like we're like a nice dive bar. Okay, Fair enough.
Speaker 1:Fair enough. I watch enough of John Taffer's show that, yeah, the nice, there is an art to a dive bar.
Speaker 3:Yes, there is.
Speaker 1:There is and I'm not being facetious with that and I would say the Ritz is the kind of place you could say, because when you say dive bar it doesn't have to mean dirty and gross, it's a place you want to go and have a beer.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You want to go and have a you know a couple of cocktails.
Speaker 3:I shouldn't say cocktails, a couple of drinks with your friends. No, I wouldn't call them cocktail. Get cran and vodka. It's not a cocktail.
Speaker 1:Disrespect I think it's like jack and coke kind of places. But you know, I always think when I think dive bar, I think like saturday warm weather and like doing some shenanigans shit. You probably shouldn't be doing like getting half liquor with your buddies and trying to steal some shot glass or a beer mug or something, and you, you and I have different life experiences yeah fair enough threats, yeah, but what I?
Speaker 2:what I like about the ritz is you still take care of your local clientele at the bar and we can still go upstairs and do our shenanigans absolutely and nobody's disturbed absolutely so.
Speaker 3:It's always. It's fun having the intermingling of the different groups when it gets, when you do it right, it ends up being way more fun than just having one of the others.
Speaker 1:So I think to be a true dive bar. They, the owner's, got to be a true dive bar.
Speaker 3:The owner's got to be a dick.
Speaker 1:They tell you to pound sand on certain orders. You walk up and you're like, hey, I'd like a white Russian. And they're like what are you talking about? In what world is a white Russian anything other than a dive bar?
Speaker 3:cocktail here we go.
Speaker 1:I'm not trying to be rude on that no, I'm just saying Don't stock all the like. They wouldn't stock cream. They're not going to stock the cream, so it's a good chance. You're going to get shut down on that, okay, or there's going to be a college student behind the bar. You're going to have to show your phone to to make a beverage.
Speaker 1:And you can flip the script on that. I, I remember this. This guy comes up to the bar. He actually saunters up like he's a cowboy oh, now, it doesn't make it good and and doesn't you know, there's no please or there's no politeness in anything saunters up to the bar like he's a cowboy. He says give me a shot of fireball. Well, all right, andrew's. And I'm like well, it was your thing. What I said to him was I I didn't even look up. I was actually making a real cocktail at the moment. I didn't even make eye contact with him as I was making it and said would you like that? In a sippy cup, an old boy was about ready to rip off his chaps and getting a real ass kick. And god, no, it's like you order fireball. It's not even whiskey. Yeah, were they assless? It's, by definition, all chaps are assless.
Speaker 2:Was this the kind of cowboy that just stepped out of his? Oh, he wasn't a cow he was, just he was they just step out of his honda civic and wanted some fireballs that drives me nuts.
Speaker 1:I'm sure he stepped out of his jacked up. I was going to say Ford 150. That'd be a real truck. I'm sure he stepped out of his Dodge that was jacked up Easy.
Speaker 3:What are the people taking shots at me for today?
Speaker 2:I'm not taking shots at anyone. Was that the Honda Civic thing? No, no, the Dodge thing. My last vehicle was a Dodge Ram I have a Dodge Ram right out front, 2500 with 11 inch lift.
Speaker 3:It's not jacked up though 11 inch lift and 38 inch tires. That was my last vehicle. There he is.
Speaker 2:I was really hoping you'd tell me that Orange car was a. Honda.
Speaker 3:Civic.
Speaker 2:And you've got a cowboy hat at home.
Speaker 3:I do not own a cowboy hat, nor would I ever wear one.
Speaker 1:The thing that is so frustrating about living in this area is how many people are walking around with, like all the Western wear on and their cowboy hats, and if you've ever been out West like really out West, like where they still have rodeos on a regular basis, like in Wyoming where I lived.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, I mean.
Speaker 1:Montana, the Dakotas, like places where you know ranching is a real lifestyle. And then you come back here to Illinois where, like somebody owns like 12 head of cattle on their corn farm and they're wearing cowboy hats and they've never even ridden a horse. One of the guys when I lived out West, one of the guys said uh, if you ain't never wore the spurs, don't ever wear the hat. Hmm, I think that really defines it. If you've never actually been on a horse and driven cattle, what business do you have to be wearing cowboy gear? I believe the expression I always heard was all hat, no cattle, yep Wannabes. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there isn't real country boys out here, because there are definitely some guys that are still killing ground and still making a living off of farming.
Speaker 1:It's a look and if you want to do that great, go for it.
Speaker 3:That's your style. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:That's your style. And this guy wasn't wearing a cowboy, so I shouldn't even say cowboy, but he just sauntered up like he was in a John Wayne movie and it's just like are you kidding me? You're not even ordering whiskey, you're ordering candy. Give me some of that there. Fire, give me a shot, fireball hey, fireball is phenomenal.
Speaker 2:And if you've got it, and if you've got it in a little plastic bottle even better.
Speaker 3:You know that's two different recipes for fireball between the US and other countries. Oh.
Speaker 1:I don't doubt it. Well, because of the red dye is a carcinogen. Probably also because it's sugar-cut.
Speaker 3:Well, it was the red dye In the US. I believe it had propylene glycol in it. Yes, yeah, which is, you can't have it in Europe. You couldn't sell it in Europe, yeah.
Speaker 2:Ah, propylene glycol? No, it's not.
Speaker 1:You know, it's not actually whiskey. They got sued for putting whiskey on it because it's not whiskey.
Speaker 3:It's a malt beverage with alcohol added to it Two different recipes Also. One was the malt the crap you were getting. The other one was the whiskey, but they were selling the other stuff, making it look like it was the one, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I actually, I actually gave John Wayne, um, well, well, I, I gave him a. You know, I, I you know I didn't want to make a problem. I made a joke out of it. But I said you hear, you know what? I actually have my own cinnamon whiskey that I've made. Would you like to try some of that? And I?
Speaker 2:that's where I take it's probably a better way to approach the situation rather than yeah, hey, john wayne, don't drink that shit. That is a pure gentleman approach to it.
Speaker 1:I could give you the bs you want, or I could show you what might actually be something even better than you ever knew existed and that's what I hope I did, and so I I in response to fireball.
Speaker 1:Last year I took some larceny, which is I know it's an inexpensive bourbon, but it's actually one of my favorites. I think it's a good go-to bourbon. I soaked it with cinnamon sticks for about a month, along with a bunch of Thai chili peppers that I had grown and amped up the heat and amped up the heat, and then I made a cinnamon syrup and added some of that to it, just to give it not not like a fireball sweet, but just a little bit of sweet. Take the edge off, and it's that to me is a really good spicy cinnamon whiskey. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's actual whiskey. And it's actual whiskey.
Speaker 1:See, that's my big thing is don't call it cinnamon whiskey, don't call it peanut butter whiskey, don't call it whatever flavoring you're adding to it and then whiskey. Just call it a liqueur. Yeah, because that's really what it is. Stop calling it whiskey and call it a cinnamon liqueur, okay. Well, that's just cinnamon flavored call it.
Speaker 2:Call it rather like a guy that just does not like. Uh, what's what they call it? The peanut butter stuff?
Speaker 1:screwball. So I have a bottle of screwball one of my buddies got me because when I first started collecting whiskey and I was up around like maybe 30, 40 bottles, it was all the shelfer stuff. Because I, you know, you got to try the shelfer stuff when you first get started into a whiskey collection. And he was like I don't know what else to get you because you pretty much have everything else. So I got you this and I was like, oh, thank you and instantly.
Speaker 1:I know I'm not gonna like it Because I pretty much just drink straight Whiskey. I'm not real big into a lot of cocktails, the flavored stuff.
Speaker 3:And it makes a mean adult Peanut butter milkshake though.
Speaker 1:You know that's. The thing is that once you start thinking about all these, Sweetened Cocktail beverages, where you're like using a blender or adding cream.
Speaker 1:Now, all of a sudden, it becomes real valuable. Let me tell you what screwball subbed in for vodka and white Russian. And here's the thing with screwball Nobody saunters up to the bar to order a shot of school. But if they do, they're not sauntering up, they're just. They just want to shot a screwball because it's being a part of whiskey. There's not an attitude that goes with it. We have different clientele. Yeah, we definitely do. Not enough to know to call it a screwball. Just to stop that, because who's going to walk up and be like oh partner, I need a shot of screwball. So for your listeners here, here's something you want to do a shot of screwball. Put about a quarter ounce of pomegranate juice in there and it'll taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So you're welcome, I'm not lying.
Speaker 1:I would probably drink that all day. Yeah, no, it's.
Speaker 2:I mean, there's nothing and there's nothing wrong with Just eat a loaf of bread while you're doing that and, like you say, there's nothing wrong with fireball in terms of a flavor flavor.
Speaker 3:Well, there's lots of wrong with Fireball in terms of your health, but there's nothing wrong with Fireball. It's like a peanut butter. Yeah, it's like the.
Speaker 1:You can use it to make good drinks. We had just cases of Menage a Trois and it was like a deep sweet wine. I'm trying to remember the. It was actually tiramisu, but it had a really berry flavor to it. On the back of the bottle it says blackberry, vanilla and custard, and that's the first bottle of wine I've ever bought where the description on the back was like realistic to what it actually tasted like, and so we did that. We added half and half of peanut butter whiskey screwball and a half of the tiramisu and it did taste like a PB&J.
Speaker 3:Interesting. Andrew's also a coffee snob. I'm a coffee snob in a different way. He loves his espresso.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that background noise?
Speaker 2:apologies, apologies, but the espresso is being made but did you listen to the last episode that we did?
Speaker 3:I listened to it and a bunch of my employees and a bunch of my friends all listened to it and said they thought it was one of the greatest things they've ever listened to well, wait a minute.
Speaker 1:Wow. Your employees said that your podcast. My employees greatest thing that my employees don't like.
Speaker 3:wow, my employees don't like me. Wow, my employees don't like me.
Speaker 2:By the way, boss, can I get next weekend off?
Speaker 3:My employees don't like me, that podcast was great. Nor would they. Nor would they pass up an opportunity to make fun of me.
Speaker 1:I'm just glad that all the ball breaking is going down on somebody else this week instead of me.
Speaker 3:I host you, mister. I was pretty sure yours had enough.
Speaker 1:That's a fantastic story.
Speaker 3:Thank you, caleb. People said they listened to it, they really liked it, they thought it was just fun and they thought they learned a lot from it. What could Luke.
Speaker 2:Luke was the teacher that day. Okay, luke was the teacher that day. Yeah, because you had me trying the.
Speaker 3:The scotch and the whiskey yeah.
Speaker 2:We walked through the scotches a bit. Yeah, we walked through the scotches a bit.
Speaker 1:When did you get into bourbon, luke? Okay, so the funny thing is I was brought up by a scotch drinker. My dad was the kind of guy to where, when I was a kid, when people got him a gift, they bought him a bottle of Glenfiddich Single Malt. So just because I wanted to be like my dad, when I hit drinking age, I started drinking scotch. I never really liked it. I hit drinking age, I started drinking scotch. I never really liked it. I had to have been probably in my late twenties before I ever actually like really enjoyed scotch and started buying really nice bottles of scotch. I always have, like you know, a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 or something, maybe two or three bottles of whiskey around at any given one time. And then about three years ago, when I bought this house, the summer that I bought this house, I met Andy and he's like you know, you really should try bourbon and I'm like you know, I've tried before, I just haven't really.
Speaker 1:yeah, and it was like three months later I have 50 bottles was it?
Speaker 2:was it like an eye-opening thing with bourbon, kind of like you did with me and scotch? Because? I came down here and I said I'm not a fan of scotch, it's a little dry, it's a little bitter for me. He goes. Oh, let's try some things.
Speaker 1:And I was like that's really good, he goes well well, I'll tell you what it was really like when I was. When I was a younger guy. Uh, I drank jim beam, but I didn't drink Jim Beam because I like whiskey. I drank Jim Beam because I was the property manager for 110 acre facility and, uh, I was all alone most of the year. So I owned shotguns and I owned a bow and I was deer hunting and drinking whiskey just sounded like it was part of that persona. To be honest, with that.
Speaker 2:That's where that cowboy hat comes.
Speaker 1:No see, still no cowboy hat. All right, I'll rock a ball cap and I'll wear some real work boots, but there's no cowboy boots. There's no cowboy hat that's ever been in my collection. I'm not about to wear that well, I mean, it's a cowboy it's.
Speaker 2:There's a.
Speaker 1:There's a hat holder somewhere in the side kiss my ass so the thing is, the sides have turned part of that persona was kind of like you should probably drink whiskey and I'd even been to like some whiskey events like whiskey in the winter down in st louis, and then andy's like man, you really need to try good bourbon. And when I tried good bourbon, and when I said good bourbon, I just mean like some of the decent shelfers, not even like the like hard to find or like you have to really work to collect the kind of stuff, just like uh buying uh larceny or getting a bottle of uh maker's mark. And the damnedest thing is, early on I latched on to wild turkey. Still to this day, wild turkey 101.
Speaker 2:As far as I'm concerned with an old-fashioned I, my buddy eric. Uh, he's gonna make the trip over one of these days. He's a big whiskey guy, but his go-to for old fashions has always been the Wild Turkey.
Speaker 3:If only you knew somewhere to take him that had a lot of whiskey that he could try.
Speaker 1:I'm going to tell you, if you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Eric, you would hate it here.
Speaker 1:If you want to try one of the most amazing old fashions you've ever had, get a bottle of Rare Breed. It's even better if somebody gives it to you for Christmas because they love you that much and then you put it in a deep freezer, All right. The thing about rare breed. I don't know why this happens, but when you get it down to like sub freezing temperatures it looks thicker, it pours out of the bottle like maple syrup and then make that into an old fash.
Speaker 2:I think you were saying that last time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, probably I think you were saying that last time yeah, probably it is the richest most like wow factor old-fashioned I've ever had without adding like smoke or or fancy cherry liqueur or any of the other stuff that I know and and it might do to really knock galeb looks so confused right now I've I've had rare breed and I don't understand his love for it.
Speaker 3:It was like trying to swallow a rock.
Speaker 2:It's coming from the guy that made me try Malort.
Speaker 3:I don't drink, but I do one shot of wild turkey on special occasions Wild turkey's fine Birds. Whatever I do it birds I do it because nobody's going to ask me to do another one. He's too maniacs. Yeah, I don't remember what the occasion was, but we got a bottle of rare breed it might've been my birthday or something because we're going to do it's wild turkey, so it fits my rule and it was like trying to swallow a rock. It my body said.
Speaker 1:My body said no, that's because it's barrel proof, but it's beyond barrel proof because wild turkey barrels at a lower entry proof than a lot of other distilleries. So the way that they increase the alcohol content in their whiskey is by moving it around the rickhouse to different places, where they know that the water will actually permeate through the wood faster than the alcohol, leaving behind the alcohol and concentrating it. And so what you end up with is a very deep, rich flavor, which you also end up with some rocket fuel proof. It's like 116, 116.5 or something like that. So your body should tell you not to swallow it. It is essentially, at that point, an industrial solvent.
Speaker 1:Well, and that's where your point of adding a quality sugar cube and some bitters and an ice cube takes it down to a level. And the people that come in and order like a high-end bourbon on an old fashioned I, I, I, I'll always make it. And in and order like a high end bourbon on an old fashioned I, I, I, I'll always make it. And if it seems like a person that I can engage in a conversation with, I will try to talk them out of the high end Right, which is not something probably the proprietors appreciate, because you're talking to somebody have a higher money, but I would rather have somebody have a quality drink. When you take a high, high-end bourbon and you add a sugar cube and ice it down, you know put bitters, all that you are yeah, and so whiskey rare breed is perfect for that.
Speaker 1:His suggestion is you take a glenfiddich or, I'm sorry, glen can glass and you pour the the high proof liquor or high proof whiskey, whichever, whichever one it is, be it your rare breed or a stag or whatever, when it's that high you need to do something to kind of bring it down a little bit.
Speaker 1:And I mean, some of the best whiskey snobs in the world will tell you you're really meant to add a little bit of water. So I seen Eric White one time put rare breed in a glass and then put in one of those like mass manufactured ice cubes, the one that looks almost kind of like a little tube okay, down in the in the in the glen cairn, and then put a whiskey topper on top of it and let it sit until the ice cube was completely melted. Now, at this point you've added a little bit of water, you've chilled it down and it really really does. For rare breed especially, it really does improve the drinking experience. And personally I like my rare breed on a big-ass rock, like I got one of my ice cream trays and it makes like a two-inch by two-inch by two-inch cube. I'll put it in the glass and I'll pour some rare breed in there. I'll let it sit for a minute and in my opinion it actually makes it creamier and in the mouthfeel it feels creamier.
Speaker 2:Well, this is what I really enjoy and respect about, uh, the bourbons and the scotches and stuff like that is an even high-end beer or wine. For me is, especially when you're talking about um on the website that you were trying to get votes for and stuff you're trying to create like an experience. You're not just trying to create a drink or trying to a shot or trying to get somebody to pound as many as they can. It's just like here's this, take it in, tell me what you like about it. If you like it, you should try this, this and this.
Speaker 1:If you don't like it, tell me what you do like and we'll find something around that piffy, that bowman brothers, and that's what I love about doing the mixology alter ego stuff is just having the conversations with people and I'll make things for people to try.
Speaker 1:I've gotten last couple years I got really into fat washing scotches and bourbons with different kind of fats, bacon and butter and coconut and other things really into fat washing scotches and bourbons with different kinds of fats, uh, you know, bacon and butter and coconut and other things, um, and people come in and I'll just give them, like, a little bit. You know, here's a sample. I just try this, you know, and let's talk about it. What do you think, what do you like, what do you don't like? And it helps me then, craft Well, explain what fat washing is, cause anybody who's listening right now is like well, so, um, so fats can impart flavor into, um, the alcohols.
Speaker 1:And so what I'll do is I'll like, I'll, I'll melt, uh, you know, a good quality butter and take some scotch or bourbon or you know, and you pour that into it, um, let it sit for a little bit and then I'll put it in the freezer. So then the fat will harden and I can just pull it out and what's left then is an alcohol that's been infused with the flavor of whatever fat you've added. So, like, my daughter knows that I like Bloody Marys, and so for Christmas she fat washed a vodka for me with bacon, bacon grease, and so that gave me a really good bacony flavor vodka. You can go out, and you can. Here's the thing too you can go out and buy bacon vodka. You can do all these things.
Speaker 2:Not to interrupt, but like I'm going to interrupt, I've got a and this goes back to the, the flavored whiskeys and stuff that you guys are talking about. I'd rather hear it called a liqueur. Like I am a bacon fee, like I love bacon on just about everything, as most men should. I agree with this. Yes, but I have a bottle of bacon-flavored whiskey that's been in my fridge for almost four years, because nobody can really handle it, yeah, so trying to do it more. Why didn't you bring it?
Speaker 1:there's uses for it. There's uses and I'll be honest, I don't like uh, bacon, fat wash, bourbon, I mean people. It sounds like the the most manly thing to do. Because it's bacon, I'm not a big fan. I'll use it in some cocktails. I prefer the butter. I think the butter adds that just sweet creamy. Oh, that's cheating, man, that's probably like a nuttiness too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's very very good, and I mean then anything you're going to put that bourbon, especially like a butter washed bourbon and an eggnog. Well, and rum, I will coconut wash rum.
Speaker 2:Yeah, coconut or butter. See coconut's where you lose me, yeah. I don't like the taste of it, I don't like the texture of it. I don't even like the smell of coconut.
Speaker 1:Well then, you would not like coconut washed. Rum.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like I don't even like If I drank. I think I would like it not washed around. Yeah, like I don't even like if I drank, I think I would like it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I like coconut. I don't know, my bosses give me hell because my wife makes the best meringue pie out there and then they're always nabbing the almond joys out of the, out of the tray at work and I'm like have at her boys, you know you're a freak.
Speaker 1:You don't like coconut, I don't like coconut and chocolate is god's gift to human beings. My family. There's the thing though.
Speaker 3:My palate don't like it.
Speaker 1:There's tons of other things to enjoy. There's a lot of other fats you can put in there. I've been experimenting with different fats in different alcohols, like even chicken fat Okay, chicken.
Speaker 2:And it sounds disgusting.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing you Okay Chicken and it sounds disgusting. You would not. Here's the thing you wouldn't drink a glass of butter.
Speaker 2:No, but you wouldn't drink a glass of chicken fat. But if you find the right compliment for it, but if you find the right balance. I've got the complete wrong frame of mind because I'm thinking Book of Eli, where he's got the cat over the fire and he's getting the drippings off of it.
Speaker 3:You know for his lips.
Speaker 1:You know, for the lips.
Speaker 2:I've never had cat, but in the right setting. If the world is on the brink of destroying itself and I need some Carmex, I'm guessing that cat will help If the world didn't.
Speaker 3:you get yourself a cat and you let it hunt for you. You become friends with the cat. That cat will bring you food.
Speaker 2:That's kind of a different thing One mouse at a time we're going to make it.
Speaker 1:Somebody once told me that in Europe, when they?
Speaker 2:sell rabbits. This has gone off the rails.
Speaker 1:They have to sell the rabbit like in the butcher shop, with the head on, because a skinned out rabbit and a skinned out cat look very, very similar.
Speaker 3:You said something about your wife making great meringue pies. I just want to insert this real quick. My family has a banana cream pie recipe that is like the greatest thing why am I always hearing this without ever getting to experience this banana cream?
Speaker 2:pie.
Speaker 1:If carly hears this, she'll be like here, take this literally special sourcing eggs for your breakfast and you can't ever bring me a banana.
Speaker 2:You know jack that is yes because, and it comes to light to take it back to alcohol.
Speaker 3:It always comes back, it's always about the base of the cat oil.
Speaker 1:Banana liqueur.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, don't even In an old fashioned.
Speaker 1:I think is really amazing, and sometimes I'll make what I call it the. I shouldn't call it the banana split because I don't have pineapple, but I'll put cherry liqueur and banana liqueur in with an old fashioned and that's pretty.
Speaker 3:I just happen to have both those things at my bar. I might have to try that, for somebody might have to banana liqueur man
Speaker 1:I back in college. I remember doing 99 bananas. You ever do a shot of 99 bananas I don't even know what that is.
Speaker 3:They still do it. They still do it, it's just like jet fuel.
Speaker 1:But I'm tell you what I still did, because it's like jet fuel with a nice laffy taffy aftertaste and you can still convince me to do it out of 99 bananas right now it can't be anywhere similar oh, nothing's worth yeah malort. I find really interesting malo I'm a big well, I'm a big fan of amaros. I have a big amaro collection what is Okay so.
Speaker 1:Amaros are Italian liqueurs, so Campari and Aperol are the two most famous Amaros. They're like a bar standard, but there's regional Amaros all over Italy and each one has a different taste, different flavor profile. Some of them you just drink in little cordial glasses Fantastic. So I love Amaro's and Scandinavian countries. I forget the actual name. They're not Amaro's cause that's Italian, but it's the same kind of idea. They have their regional liqueurs and the. The herbs and ingredients they put in are quite a bit harsher than the Italians. But the Malort I'm not going to say I like Malort, but if someone gives me a shot of Malort I will drink it and I find it super interesting because there's a lot of flavors going on If someone looks at me and says I like Malort.
Speaker 1:I'm just, I just look at him cross-eyed. Well, no, I wouldn't say I like Malort, but it's interesting. And to me, Malort and I'm looking for the right drink combination to figure out what to do with Malort. But like if you, if I give you vanilla extract, it's going to taste like hot garbage.
Speaker 3:But if I put vanilla extract into something, you're like whoa, this is vanilla, this is delicious, and I see the same potential for Malort, I mean, there's always I mean mean the same thing cooking like you don't want to eat something that's super bitter, but the right amount of bitterness and the right amount of foods, accents the other flavors well, and that's the make of a classic cocktail is the balance of bitter and trying to figure out, I've been preaching that- yeah to my staff
Speaker 2:yeah, I don't know. You're gonna have to tell. Let me know how that adventure goes.
Speaker 1:There's a bar in bar in Princeton that has like a huge whiskey selection and they have a chili cook-off once a year and you can be a judge. But to be a judge you have to fill out an application.
Speaker 2:You were saying that yeah.
Speaker 1:And do a shot of Malort.
Speaker 2:Well, not worth it.
Speaker 3:I sold a bunch of Malort last night.
Speaker 1:Let's back up a little bit on Malort. What do we add to old fashioned besides a sugar cube and an ice cube?
Speaker 3:Bitters, the bitters, the bitters, exactly. And so what is Malort? It's bitter.
Speaker 1:And so I there's great. I mean, people can knock Malort. It's been around for a long, long time. I think it's interesting. I think it's uh, the history of and I again I I apologize, I forget the name uh of the actual is not not a morrow's, but whatever the scandinavians have. There's many different uh kinds. Um, I think it's a unique history and unique flavors that match really well in cocktails. I just haven't figured out the right match for malort yet yeah, you'll have to let me know how that goes I found somebody last night who likes malort less than you I the thing with malort.
Speaker 2:And then if you find a blend, I I mean I'm not gonna say I won't try it, but like you were saying, with the old-fashioned, I like the whiskey before it becomes an old-fashioned yeah, exactly, I don't like the well, the lord before, but do you like the bitters before it goes in?
Speaker 1:an old-fashioned no, no, we're not gonna take it. We're not gonna take a shot of ang like the bitters before it goes in an old-fashioned no yeah, we're not going to take a shot of Angostura bitters, right, I mean, some people do, it's expensive.
Speaker 3:Mix it with club soda and it cures an obsessed stomach.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it sounds like that really blows my mind. It sounds like a Pepsi-Daisy commercial. Well, and that's where bitters came from.
Speaker 1:Bitters used to be the in the. Those used to be the healthy tonics.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So Angostura Bichauds, all these bitters that we have that used to be the tonics that you would take for digestive health. The category is called a Basque liqueur and it has those two axon dots above the A.
Speaker 3:Okay, you didn't know what it was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but there's, there's another, maybe it's specifically for Sweden.
Speaker 3:You didn't know what it was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but there's another maybe it's specifically for Sweden Type of Swedish drink flavored with anise and wormwood, introduced in the 1930s, long produced by Chicago's Carl Jepson Company. I thought Malort predated the 30s because Malort survived Prohibition, because nobody could believe was people would actually drink it for pleasure well, true story and, and so they survived prohibition because it was sold as a as a digestive aid so it literally translates to moth herb, because the herbs that are in it they would use as an anti-moth repellent how you're drinking moth balls.
Speaker 2:I haven't found a mixture for mothball concentrate yet.
Speaker 3:I gave a girl a shot of Malort last night for her birthday.
Speaker 1:Didn't go well.
Speaker 3:She was a couple.
Speaker 1:Roses, lime juice and Bailey's Three wise men.
Speaker 3:She was a couple of Patron shots in already Like this group comes in. I don't even know what a 21 gun salute is 21 shots On your 21st birthday.
Speaker 1:You do 21 shots across the night.
Speaker 3:When you get to 21, well, that's if you haven't, that's foolishness and make sure you're not going to go home and puke in your sleep and die.
Speaker 1:Somebody hooks you up with a cement mix roses, lime juice and bailey's irish cream but it's two separate and you put them in your mouth and you swish them around and it curdles in your mouth, grosses you out. You're guaranteed to go puke. But then what happened? Is you safeguarded yourself because you puked up so much of the alcohol? Okay, for everyone listening, I'm just going to suggest not drinking 21 shots in a day ever, it's not something I mean.
Speaker 3:This was back in Gen X days, buddy.
Speaker 1:Gen X days. We were the feral ones that were left to improvise on our own.
Speaker 3:This is not this millennial shit.
Speaker 2:Disclaimer us here at Dial the Wild does not want you to go home and poison yourself or same drink things to yeah well, this has been life life's too short lightning, but I've got an autism walk to get to today like a creeper gotta go, gotta go walk for the autism kids.
Speaker 3:And then we got you gotta plug for that as much as you can. Right now Caleb's got music trivia Music trivia tonight. Fundraiser for the animal shelter.
Speaker 2:I've got music trivia tonight, Fundraiser for the Bushnell fire department. So I'm going to wrap this up pack up and offset the stories.
Speaker 3:If I didn't have to clean and set up and everything, today I would be going to the autism walk to support.
Speaker 2:But someone's got to run your business, yeah unfortunately, that's me and this is bullshit damn it. I'm so upset with being successful and making money I just, I just hate having to come down here and eat food and smoke cigars and best part of the week.
Speaker 3:There you are, do? You didn't even mention what we had for breakfast today hey, walk through it, luke.
Speaker 2:He tells it so much better than I do he does sunny side up.
Speaker 1:Fried duck eggs yes, venison back straps grilled over charcoal. Yes, armadillo eggs, but instead of using barbecue sauce, we glaze them in a mixture of maple syrup bourbon and butter Explain the armadillo egg.
Speaker 2:So an armadillo egg is you take a.
Speaker 1:Some people use a whole jalapeno. We used half jalapenos and you seed them and vein them and then basically pack it full of sausage and wrap it in bacon. Yes, and then it gets cooked on the grill that way and then glazed up. Yes, and then my wife made homemade bread For toast, and then my wife made homemade bread for toast. We had toast steak and eggs, but just taken up a notch.
Speaker 2:I like it several notches.
Speaker 1:It was delicious several notches, alright.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm going to head out of here. Thanks again for conversation. Whiskey, cigars, conversation or lack thereof it's always a pleasure having you.
Speaker 3:We need to do this more often okay, peace out amz.
